Moisture tester



Jan. 15, 1952 F N 2,582,629

MOISTURE TESTER Filed Jan 5, 1949 2 SHEETS-SHEET l INVENTOR.

A. B. HILTON MOISTURE TESTER Jan. 15, 1952 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 Filed Jan. 5,1949 I INVENTOR. .E z'Z $072 Patented Jan. 15, 1952 UNITED ,sTATss'MoIsti'nRE TESTER A. Hilton, Laurel,.:JMiss., assignor of one-half toGrady-Tarn, Laurel, Miss.

Application January it, 1949, SerialNo. 69,363

1 Claim. (01.

1 s, This invention relates to a moisture testing device. 7 4 v Anobject of this invention is to provide a tesi ing device by means ofwhich the moisture content 'of meats or other" food products'can'ibefidetermined. In certain food products it is de-., sirable to cook thearticle until substantiallyfall of the moisture has been eliminated. Inthe. present invention the presence or absence of moisture in thearticle is determined by project ing a pair of pointedelectrodes intothe article, the moisture closing an electric circuit to the"-electrodes, and the degree of moisture in the article being indicatedupon a metensuch as-a galvanometer, which is interposed in the electric15 circuit. w

The device embodied in this invention embodies I a-portable unitincluding a housing with a-haiidat one end and the article piercingelectrodes projecting from the other end, so that the elec trodes can bereadily projected into the article, whereupon any moisture in thearticle will form a conductor between the electrodes and thereby I closethe electric circuit to themeter.

With the above and other objects in view,.;my invention consists in thearrangement, combi'n a. tion and details of construction disclosedinfthe, drawings and specification, and then more par? ticularly'pointed out in the app nded jclaimsf In the'drawings, 7 1.: Figure 1 isa detail side elevation of a moisture" testing device constructedaccording to an embodiment of this invention,

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 22 of Figure 1, v 35Figure 3 is a detail front elevation, partlyin section, of the devicewith the housing cover removed, r Figure 4 is a sectional view taken onthejjline 4-4 of Figure 3, 40 Figure 5 is a diagrammatic viewshowingthe' electric circuits embodied in this invention.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral, designates generally a housingwhich may;v be-' formed of either metal, plastic or other dielectricmaterial. The housing I0 has mounted onthe upper wall ll thereof ahandle I2 secured s-ubstantially centrally of the wall I I by fastening!means [3. The housing II) has projecting from? the bottom wall |4thereof a pair of spaced prongs: or electrodes I5 and I6 which are ofpointed constructicn and are adapted in the use of thisdevice to beprojected into an article or sample of food such as a piece of meat M orthe like oi a; predetermined quantity, for determining :the

moisture content of the article during the cooking thereof. "Theelectrode I5 is secured in the bottom wall l4 by means of a pair ofinsulating bushings l7 a'ndl8,'and the electrode I6 is secured initheb'o'tton'rwall l4 by means of a'p'air of insulating bushings and 20. Theelectrodes l5 and |6 are spaced a predetermineddistance apart and areconnected to a normally open electric circuit shown diagrammatically inFigure 5. A condu'ctor 2| is connected at one end to'the electrode l5and is connected to one pole' of a battery B orother suitable source ofelectric current supply. The battery B is mounted in the housing It;being secured in a spring clip 22 which is fixed to the rear wall 230ithe housing. As show'n'in' Figure 4 one end of the battery B has acontact 24 engaged therewith, and the'other endof the battery B has asecond contact 25 engaged therewith. -These two contacts 24 and 25 aresecured tofl'the rear wall 23 and where the housing is formed of metalthe contacts 24 'and'25 will be insulated from the wall 23 byconventional insulating means. I

A meter 26 1s interposed in the conductor 2| and in the present instancethe meter 26 is a galvanometer of conventional construction whichincludes a swinging pointer 21 and a dial or scale 28 across which thepointer 21 is adapted to swing." In the present instance the dial 2B isdivided into three zones with one zone 29 thereof bearing the indiciaWet and constituting the starting point of the pointer 21, whereas anintermediate zone 30 bears the indicia "Testing period indicating themoisture in the food M after the food has been at least partiallycooked. A third zone 3| bears the indicia Dry and the pointer 21 isadapted to swing into the zone 3| when the food has been cookedsubstantially dry so that very little or no electric current will passbetween the electrodes l5 and l 6 when these electrodes are projectinginto the food article.

A rheostat 32 is interposed in the conductor 2| between the meter 26 andthe positive side of the battery B, and a resistor 33 having apredetermined resistance value is interposed in conductor 2| betweenrheostat 32 and meter 26. The electrode l3 has connected thereto one endof a conductor 34 which is connected at the opposite end to the negativeside of the battery B.

A pair of resistors 35 and 36 having predetermined resistance values arealso interposed in the conductor 34 between electrode l6 and thenegative pole of the battery B to substantially balance the metercircuit with the normal predetermined resistance of a wet" sample to betested. The meter 26 is secured to the rear wall 23 of the housing byfastening means 31, and the housing ID has mounted on the front thereofa front wall or closure 38 secured by fastening means 39. The face ofthe meter 26 projects partly through the front wall 38, the latter beingformed with an opening 40 through which the meter 26 is adapted to atleast partly project.

The rheostat 32 includes a knob 4| disposed on the outer side of thefront wall 38 which is adapted to regulate the voltage and amount ofcurrent flowing from the battery B to the'electric circuit and theelectrodes l5 and I6.

ture content by piercing the article with the electrodes l5 and ii. Themoisture in the-article M will form a conductor for the electric currentand in. the initial operation of this device the rheostat 32 is adjustedto match the. total resistance of the circuit with the resistanceof M sothat-the pointer 21 will be in the starting zone. 23. The articlaM maythen be cookedv and periodic testing of the article by projecting ofvthe moisture content by; reason of the poor conduction of electriccurrent caused by what'- ever moisture remains in. the article and is.disposed between theelectrodesli 5 and; I 6;.-

With'a testing deviceas hereinbefore described,

the article can be tested frequently during-the cooking thereof and whenthe pointer 21 swings to the left into the final zone '3-l indicative ofamaximum allowable resistance the articlewiil be substantially free ofmoisture, By the term free of moisture is meant a, condition of thematerial of the articlewtested, wherein further removal of :moisture isto be stopped just short of a, condition susceptible to burning. In. thecondition. termedfree of moisture 'the'moisture contentwill have beenreduced. to substantially '2' .l

to 8% in which condition the article can be In the use and operation ofthis device, thefood article M may be initially tested as to mois- Vreadily formed into marketable cakes of uniform quality. Articlematerial that has been overcooked becomes powdery in which condition itis unsuitable for forming into cakes for use in industry.

I do not mean to confine myself to the exact details of constructionherein disclosed, but claim all variations falling within the purview ofthe appendedcclaim.

What I claim is:

A moisture testing device comprising a housing including top, bottom,end, front and back walls, a. pair of spaced insulating bushings in saidbottom wall, a pair of electrodes fixed in said bushings and.terminating in pointed portions extending a predetermined distanceexteriorly of. saidbottom wall of said housing for insertion in a testsample of a meat product being cooked and having a minimum knownresistance, said electrodes being connected in series with a source of.electrical energy, a fixed resistor, a variable resistor, and aresistance measuring meter, having, an. indicating arm movable inresponse to'changes in resistance of said circuit, said variableiresistorbeing adjustable to balance the resistance. of the circuit withsaid minimum resistance of the sample, a scale on said front walltraversible by said indicating arm and graduated for indication of threezones representative of wet, testingand dry conditions of the testsample, the extent of said; dry zone being materially less than that ofsaid wet and. testing zones, movement of saidarm from the wet zone beingefiected by anincrease in: the resistance of the sample, suchincreasebeing effected. by decrease in the moisture content thereofabove said known minimum and to the dry zone on increase of; resistanceof the sample tov a predetermined allowable maximum resistance.

' .A, B. HILTON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record "in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,610,563 McIlvaine Dec. 14, 19261,987,244 Moore l.. Jan. 8;, 1935 2,003,077 Heppenstall May .28, 19352,461,111 Flinspach. etal. Feb. 8, 1949

